Alaskan man rescued from fiery car crash by police

A man trapped inside a burning vehicle has managed to escape in the nick of time after a police officer and four passersby rocked the car back-and-forth so he could escape through the sunroof.

The vehicle exploded less than a minute after the man was freed.

"The vehicle was lying on its right side down an embankment and the engine was on fire," police wrote in a statement.

"The sole occupant, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was inside on the passenger side with his arm stuck under the vehicle."

The police officer along with four other people rocked the car back-and-forth, freeing the man's arm and allowing him to escape through the sunroof.

Upon being freed, the rescued man said: "I thought I was literally going to die".

He then told the police officer he is a firefighter and urged rescuers to extinguish the flames before checking on him.

"Approximately one minute after the man escaped, the car became fully engulfed in flames."

Anchorage firefighters successfully extinguished the blaze after arriving on the scene.